


Changzhou Comb

by Lwoorl



Series: DC Shifters AU [4]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Abusive Parents, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Child Abuse, Gen, Past Child Abuse, Transformation, shifters au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-29 09:02:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16741012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lwoorl/pseuds/Lwoorl
Summary: Cassandra has a hard time forgetting old habits.Shifters AU: See notes of the series to learn more, but all you need to know is some people can turn into objects and they're called shifters.





	Changzhou Comb

**Author's Note:**

> I... Love Cass... So so much.  
> I actually re-read the first 30 issues of Cass' run as Batgirl for writing this, so hope you appreciate it you savage beasts.
> 
> Also, I noticed I accidentally made a pattern on these fics, fluff, angst, fluff, now this is angst and I'm working on a fluff one as we speak. Huh. Funny.

“No, for the last time, I don't know what happened! I was telling her she  should be more careful and then she- Are you even listening?!” Barbara's speaking with someone, but Cass can't hear who's at the other end of the call. “No, I didn't even know she was a shifter!” 

She moves quickly, choppy, looking something in her computers as she speaks. her shoulders are tense. Worried, scared. Why?

Cass came back from a mission, she failed, rushed in, a man died and Spoiler got hurt. Stupid, careless.

Oracle had told her to stay together, but she didn't listen, and people died. Stupid, stupid, stupid. 

Then she came back, and Barbara was angry. Cass failed, so she stayed still, very, very still, and awaited to be put in the box, like she's used to, like when she was back with _ Him _ . But that didn't happen, instead Barbara was surprised, confused, and now she's scared.

Weird. 

She hasn't put her in the box yet, she's on a table, looking as Barbara works. She's getting frustrated with whoever she's talking to, angry.

“It's been almost an hour, Bruce!” So it's Batman. “She won't react to anything I tell her! I even- What?! Of course I made sure she has a pulse!” 

Barbara throws a quick glance at her, and then puts a finger on top of Cass, gently, sheepishly. Her posture softens, her shoulders fall, but it's not ease what she's feeling, it's more that she feels powerless.

“...Of fucking course I checked.” She mutters, more to herself than to Batman, and then retrieves her hand.

She impulses herself with her arms and her wheelchair moves back from the computer. Then puts her head between her hands and exhales. Barbara stays silent, it's a bit hard to see her from this angle, but Cass can tell she's listening to whatever Batman's telling her.

“I don't know what triggered it, I- Do you think it has something to do with her mind? You know her whole brain was changed recently,  _ twice _ !” She straightens up, moves back to the computer. “It’s supposed to use psychological triggers, maybe it messed up the process and it's only showing up now, if she doesn't know how to change back you could get in contact with Martian Manhunter-”

What's she talking about? Of course Cass knows how to change her form. To  _ shift _ , that's the word. Of course Cass knows how to shift. She will, as soon as she gets out of the box, so that's why she doesn't get it, why haven't they put her there yet?

Batman says something and Barbara stiffens. Her eyes close a fraction. “Come again?” 

Another silence, her eyebrow twitches. She's angry again, but this time that anger has an objective. Is she angry at Cass? No, not right, her jaw tenses as Batman continues speaking. She's angry at him.

“Bruce, you have to tell me if you have any idea- Why?! It's a secure line, you can't just ask me to- I- …Alright. Alright. ETA twenty minutes.” 

Barbara puts a finger on her earpiece and ends the call, rather forcefully. She's angry, but she's still worried. There's something someone isn't telling her, she's frustrated at being in the dark.

She switches off the computer, takes a purse and hurriedly shoves some stuff inside. Then she looks at Cass, she's insecure, but of what Cass can't know. 

Barbara picks her up and holds her, gently, then her eyes move between her and the purse once, twice, thrice. She's making a decision on whether to put her inside or not. Cassandra can see what she's going to pick a second before Barbara herself knows. Her hold around her tightens. She holds her in one hand resting on her lap, outside the purse, and moves her chair with the other one.

  
  
  
  


 

 

_ He looks at her. He's angry, frowning, angry at her. Cassandra looks at her arm, where a bullet left a scratch, then looks at the man on the floor, holding his mangled hand and screaming. Then looks at the gun sitting in a corner of the room.  _

_ He comes closer and puts a hand on her head. She squirms under his look. She let herself get hit, so He's displeased. She knows what's coming next.  _

_ He looks at her. She looks at him. And then she goes still, really still, with her hands at her sides, her gaze fixed on him. And she changes. And He's holding her. And He's putting her in the thing.  _

_ Cassandra doesn't know the name of the thing, but someday, somewhere, she will remember it as The box. Box, that word is easier than chest. A chest is where you put something you want to protect, but you can put anything inside a box. You can put a treasure inside a box. You can put trash inside a box. _

_ It's just a tiny, stupid little wooden chest, one of the few things that sit in her room ever since she discovered one day what happens when she gets really still. It's a reminder, what Cassandra gets if she isn't good enough. Nothing special, and yet she tiptoes whenever she walks pass it, and avoids looking at it as if acknowledging its presence was a bad omen.  _

_ Someday, years later, after she learns to use words, after Jason Todd becomes the Red Hood, after she handles Batgirl to Stephanie Brown, after Dick Grayson takes on Batman for a year, after she comes back from Hong Kong. After Barbara stands up from the wheelchair. Someday she will confront the little wooden thing again, and she will smash it under her foot, right in front of Him.  _

_ She will feel like she has nothing to fear anymore, as she sees that thing break into little pieces. He will look at her, with a sad, really sad look, and will apologize, but she won't listen to him, she won't care about him anymore, because Cassandra will know she has other people in her life. People she loves, that love her back. This time for real. _

_ She will smile, and punch him right on the face. _

_ She will keep a splinter of the thing, she will put it in her room. As a reminder, not of the fear and sadness and anger, but of the power she felt when stomping on her cage. She won't tiptoe when walking next to it, and she won't avoid looking at it for fear of something happening. _

_ And years later, even later than that, after Damian grows up to be taller than her and she finds a place she wants to stay, her own place that she wants to protect. Cassandra will throw away that splinter too. And then she will never think again about being trapped in a little wooden thing. She won't think of it, not even once, for the rest of her life. _

_ But that's the future, when Cassandra becomes strong and brave and surrounds herself by people who let her be both bold and kind. This is now. _

_ And right now, in this bunker, she's just a little kid being punished for letting a bullet graze her. _

_ David Cain leaves the comb that is his daughter in a chest he bought for 2 dollars in Macau, years before Cassandra was even born, a chest that had been sitting between his things until he found it an use. _

_ He leaves her- it there, and without further ado just leaves. He will go and drink cheap alcohol somewhere, maybe even fuck someone, fuck some lonely woman he picks up in a bar, one little housewife that's trying to forget about a husband who left her with drugs and sex.  _

_ He will come back in two weeks. It was going to be only one at first, but he found a bastard that wanted him to kill another bastard, so he got delayed. And then he will make himself a drink before finally taking Cassandra out of the chest. _

_ Meanwhile. Well, meanwhile Cassandra Cain waits in the little dark space where she can't see, hear, or move. The first times… The first times she was scared, frightened out of her mind. But now she's used to it. It will never be a good thing, but now she doesn't freak out anymore, even if her quickening pulse tells another story. _

_ She waits. Doesn't think, doesn't feel, and just tries not to be. But she wonders. She wonders if this is the time that He finally just forgets about her, and leaves Cassandra there to rot.  _

_ She wonders, is she going to spend the rest of her life like this? Unable to move, inside a little squared space where she can't even blink? _

_ What even is left of her, if she hasn't a body anymore? If she's trapped in a carcass that can't move, in a place where she can't see, or hear, or feel anything but the wood under her? _

_ But then the ceiling of the thing opens, and a ray of light gets in. David Cain opens the chest and Cassandra wastes no time in moving. And now she's she again. _

_ He smiles at her, a big, nice smile, and she smiles back. She's forgiven, He remembered to take her out. She knows He loves her and she loves him back. And everything is fine once more in Cassandra's little, messed up world. _

  
  
  
  


 

Barbara hugs herself as she sees Bruce checking on Cass. He holds her, tells her something, so low she can't hear, and then asks Barbara to come with him.

She goes to take Cass with them, but Bruce tells her not to. She raises an eyebrow. If he wants them to leave Cass in this room, then it means he doesn't want her to hear what they're going to talk about.

Away from Cassandra, Barbara crosses her arms and glares at him. “Before, you said you had an idea of what was going on.” She tells him. “Did you confirm it after checking her?”

“I did.” He answers. She waits for him to speak, taps her fingers against her arm, waiting. 

“So?” She presses. She isn't in the mood for fucking games. Cass turned into a fucking comb and now she won't shift back, if Bruce thinks she has patience for this bullshit he's dead wrong.

“It's just an hypothesis.” He admits. “In the tapes left by David Cain I saw him punishing Cassandra by shutting her in a chest, as a comb. He would leave her there for long periods of time before releasing her in the face of any perceived failing.”

Barbara bites her lips. She's angry, her stomach burns at the thought of all that monster did to the new Batgirl. Movement is everything for Cass, she imagines her, a little scared girl, who never got the chance to even talk, being deprived of the one language she found by herself, and she wants to scream. But “That doesn't explain what's happening with her.”

Bruce shakes his head. “Batgirl failed a mission and almost got Spoiler killed. You were reprimanding her about it when she shifted. I think she's expecting to be punished as she used to be.”

Barbara's knuckles go while as she holds the arms of her chair. “She should know by now we wouldn't do something like that!” She wants to throw up. “I told her to shift back several times before calling you, why would she think I would punish her that way after that? It's not even the first time I scold her about something!”

Bruce's expression softens, if only a little. If he was wearing the Batman cowl she wouldn't notice. 

He sighs and says “It  _ is  _ the first time she agrees she should have acted different. She feeling guilty about what happened most likely has to do with her having such an extreme reaction.” He avoids her gaze before continuing. “I think we should confine her to a container for a little while.” 

Barbara's spine turns into ice. She feels her fury, the fire in her chest, flip and morph and turn into an ugly thing that makes her hands itch for a neck.

“You can't be serious.” She doesn't even yells, the words just leave her mouth. She's angry. So,  _ so _ angry at the mere  _ suggestion _ . “You can't be serious!” She raises her tone. Her hands start to shake. “You can't really expect-!” 

“Just five minutes.” Bruce interrupts her before she can really start to scream, holding one hand up. He's using Batman's voice now. “You know Cassandra has a tendency for self sacrifice and a need for atonement. She feels guilty and is looking for a way to compensate for her mistakes. If she gets the… Punishment she wants, she will most likely shift to her human form.”

_This_ _fucking moron!_

“No.” Barbara shakes her head. “No! I'm not letting you do that!”

“It's the quickest-”

“That's not the way to help someone cope with trauma!”

“She isn't listening to us, it's more likely to work than-”

“I won't let you do what that- that  _ psychopath _ did to her again! You should know better than that!” She wheels closer, looking up, glaring at him. “What’s next, are we going to start shooting her with a gun too?!”

That gets her a reaction. Bruce's hands close, his eyebrows knit. “Shooting someone and retaining them for a short period of time is not the same-”

“No, you're right! It's worse!” Barbara shouts as she opens her arms. 

They glare at each other. Barbara takes this moment to breath and compose herself. She isn't going to get through Bruce's thick skull by yelling. She's learned that after seeing all of his shouting matches with Dick.

“Bruce. We aren't shifters, we will never know what it's like. But you have to agree there's no way to compare tying someone up or putting them in a cell to  _ that. _ ” She sighs, and looks at him,  _ really _ looks at him, she has to get him to  _ understand _ . “It must be specially bad for her... You know that.”

“You don't know how long she's going to stay like that otherwise.” He answers, but it's softer, she just needs to keep pushing.

“She can't keep it up forever.”

“She's stubborn.” Bruce whispers. And she sees, Barbara sees he's worried too, on his own stupid way. 

“Give me four hours, and I will convince her. If it doesn't work we will… We will go with your idea.” 

Bruce's face hardens, he looks at her, and after a beat he nods. “Alright.” He moves to leave, but then stops, and without turning back “I hope you're right.” Then he exits the room, and Barbara is left alone.

Barbara slumps on her chair and covers her eyes with her hands. She's tired.

It's been a long day, a long night. First the failed mission, and now all of this. It's wearing her down.

But she doesn't have time for this, she needs to make some calls.

  
  
  
  
  


It's been a while, but they haven't put her in the box yet. Cass doesn't understand why. 

She's in the cave, on a… A stool, but a short one, footstool? She thinks that's the word. The surface is padded, soft. Kinda comfy.

Barbara told her, again and again, she can shift back. But no, no, she messed up, she got someone killed, Stephanie is hurt. 

She  _ wants  _ to. She wants to move so, so badly. But she has to be put in the box first. Somehow, she feels it's really important, that it will be better if she's put in there, that something will be solved by that, even if she hates it. But Barbara says they won't. It's weird. It's bad.

They wait in silence, she doesn't know what they're waiting for, but Barbara's waiting, her body tense and her gaze on the entrance of the cave. All the time she rests a hand on top of Cass, gently, reassuringly. Reassuring who? Reassuring Cass? Barbara? Both.

Eventually Cass hears footsteps, two people, coming from upstairs. It takes a while for them to enter her visual field. Stephanie and Robin- No, not Robin, he's on civilian clothes, Tim. Stephanie and Tim.

“Hey Barbara… Cass.” Stephanie greets, behind her Tim waves meekly. They're worried, both of them, but try not to show it.

“So, Oracle told us what happened. Sorry Nightwing couldn't come.” Stephanie says, sitting in front of the short stool. She moves as to not to holt her chest. Broken ribs, Cass remembers. “I'm flattered you feel like you need to apologise, but it's ok Cass, I'm fine!” Lies.

Tim follows, he kneels beside her, out of the two of them, he's the one who's more tense. “Cass. I know how much it sucks to be trapped somewhere, unable to move.” He says the truth, somehow he really does understand. There's something else, secret, painful. Cass won't ask. “We aren't going to do that. You don't need to go through that again. No one should.” He means it.

“Listen, as pretty as you are like this” Stephanie continues, poking her with a finger, gently. “I think I speak for everyone when I say we would prefer seeing you with two legs.”

“I saw the reports of the mission.” Tim says, he gets closer, looks at her. This is important for him, for some reason. “Everyone makes mistakes, but this is not the way to go about it. Do you think if you stay like this it will bring that man back to life? That it will change what happened tonight?” Stephanie shoves him, she's worried he's saying something wrong. Tim ignores her. “It won't. Cass, none of us wants you to do this, we really don't want to see you like this. Just shift back, please.”

“If you  _ really _ want to make up for it.” Steph says, flicking one finger at her. “You can buy me dinner tomorrow. Come on, wouldn't that be better?” She means it.

“Cass, I know you feel guilty.” Barbara speaks, she looks… Sad. “But Tim and Steph are right. This won't solve the problem. You aren't with David Cain anymore. Just be more careful next time, no need for self inflicted punishments.” 

Behind them, she sees Batman. She isn't sure since when he's standing there. His posture looks… Hurt.

“Cass, please” Stephanie whispers. Her face is so open, so worried.

...Cass is hurting them.

She hadn't realized… She didn't think… 

But she's hurting them, for real. For what? So she can… Pay? So she can pay and feel better?

She's been a coward, isn't she?

They mean it, they won't put her in the box. They don't want to. So why is she continuing with this?

She has to stop.

She thinks of movement, the feeling of her legs, her arms, to walk and to run and to kick. And she shifts. She turns into light and that light turns into her. And she's she. Her shoulders shaking slightly, looking at them.

They look relieved, it was the right choice.

“There you are!” Stephanie cheers. She puts her arm around Cass’ shoulders, takes Tim by the shirt and shoves the three of them into a messy hug.

“Don't do that again.” Tim says. Serious, scared? Personal, Cass won't ask. She nods.

“Welcome back, Batgirl.” Batman says, he stays apart, guilty? But he smiles, happy, happy too. Relief. 

“I'm sorry.” She says, because she is. She worried everyone, hurt them. Stupid.

But Barbara puts a hand on her shoulder, and leans to kiss her cheek. “Don't be. It's ok now.” 

And Cass believes her. It's ok.

It's ok now. Things will be fine.

She's ok.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Please remember I feed of comments. If you don't leave any I will starve to death and it will be YOUR fault
> 
> Also. Friendly reminder I accept prompts for this au (or anything in general) in my Tumblr, Lwoorl, (I use the same username literally everywhere) feel free to ask me anything, or shoot me a message anytime, I swear I don't bite!


End file.
